Paramedic resigns after grand theft charge

Thursday

Jan 31, 2013 at 10:38 PM

A county firefighter/paramedic resigned Thursday when he was charged with grand theft and possession of a controlled substance.

By Austin L. MillerStaff writer

A county firefighter/paramedic resigned Thursday when he was charged with grand theft and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription by Marion County Sheriff's Office officials, authorities said.Sheriff's Deputy Brian Haworth responded to Munroe Regional Medical Center in reference to a report of a missing prescription filed by a patient brought to the facility.Capt. Rita Reahm told the deputy that Lt. Rose Teetsell believed a firefighter/paramedic may have taken a half bottle of 500-milligram hydrocodone pills valued at approximately $100 that belonged to a female patient.The lieutenant added that she and the victim's husband were inventorying medications to determine which ones belonged to the victim and which one belonged to the woman's husband when she stepped away.Upon returning, the woman said the medications were lined up together and she wanted to know who lined up the medications, the fire official said.Teetsell said she noticed the firefighter/paramedic, later identified as Winfield Scott Hancock III, was "fiddling" in the driver's side of the ambulance and asked another fire official, Joe Esposito, to check the bag for the victim's medications.Esposito said he found the victim's medications in the passenger's seat of the ambulance, when, according to procedure, medications should be stored in the back of the ambulance with the patient.Detectives Julie Vowinkel and Walter Ray, along with Haworth, interviewed several fire personnel, and all of them gave similar stories. They allege Hancock made two trips inside the victim's residence and wasn't assisting with the patient.Hancock also complained about his stomach to Teetsell and had requested to use the bathroom at the residence, officials said. Teetsell said Hancock told her he was going to write his report in the ambulance, which he never did.In an interview, Hancock admitted taking the victim's prescription pill bottle that had contained hydrocodone and placing it under the driver's seat inside the ambulance so he could retrieve it later for his personal use.Hancock denied having an addiction, and said he doesn't use narcotics all the time, officials said. However, he said he does have a valid prescription from a prior on-duty injury that occurred a year ago.Hancock was then arrested and transported to the Marion County Jail. He denied an interview request from the Star-Banner."People unfortunately make mistakes, and those mistakes have consequences. Abuse of the trust residents put in our hands — and the mishandling of controlled substances — is not something this department will ever condone," said M. Stuart McElhaney, MCFR fire chief.Hancock was hired in April 2004 and has no prior record of employee misconduct, said Jessica Greene, MCFR spokesperson.